Watch Your Step
by Baba-sama
Summary: ...the next one's a doozy. Season 3, Pacey/Joey. Eventually.
1. Liquor and tequila and beer, oh my!

**AN:** Okay, so I got a little (read: monumentally) wordy with this. But this is my first stab at fanfiction in a long time, so any suckiness can be attributed to that. And the fact that I do not have a beta, and have to go over this myself. Not pretty, let me tell you. I hope there isn't anything wrong with this, at least in the grammatical sense.

Anyway! Enough with the technical mumbo-jumbo! This story is set in Season 3, a little while after Pacey breaks up with Andie. After that, all bets are off…enjoy (hopefully)!

**Watch Your Step**

_Chapter 1_

"Why does this always happen to me?" Joey asked aloud, seated in the center of a king-sized bed. She brushed at a particularly annoying strand of hair that kept straying into her eyes, but to no avail. She sighed. It was just another item on the long list of things she had no control over. She felt her legs start to fall asleep, but when she tried shifting into a more comfortable position, one of her fellow bedmates – her former archenemy, for that matter – tightened his grip on her, snuggling into her right side. She briefly wondered if this was what it was like to be Andie a few months ago, but the ridiculousness of her present situation brought her out of those mildly disturbing – and by mildly disturbing she meant horribly, horribly scarring – thoughts.

Pacey, however, wasn't the only one in the bed with her, and he wasn't even the only one hugging her like there was no tomorrow. Jen lay to Joey's left, her left arm draped over Joey's stomach right above where Pacey held a vice-like grip on Joey's waist. Joey silently studied Jen's face, pale and serene in the moonlight filtering through the balcony door. She could see why Dawson had fallen for her. Even when Joey had resented Jen for her effortless intrusion into Dawson's heart, she couldn't fathom why Jen had once commented that she thought she resembled a duck. The phrase "blonde bombshell" fit Jen perfectly - only there was so much more behind it all, something Joey had only recently begun to discover. She and Jen had always had a rocky relationship at best, but a few weeks ago they had started to develop an earnest friendship when Joey at Jack's ushering had tentatively reached out to Jen, needing to talk to someone about everything that had been going on ever since last summer had ended.

A light sigh brought Joey's gaze over to Andie, who was curled up back to back next to Jen. She cradled a pillow in her arms, and for once looked peaceful and worry-free. Joey wasn't as close to Andie as the others were, mostly because she had been wrapped up in her relationship with Dawson when Andie and Jack had rolled into town. All she knew was that Andie sort of resembled her - if she had had caffeine permanently streaming into her veins - and that Andie had been good for Pacey and vice-versa. She also had a limited knowledge of Andie's psychological problems, gleaned from a vulnerable Jack's confessions and Pacey's terse briefing when she had gone with him to pick Andie up at the institution she had stayed at last summer.

Joey had thought that Andie and Pacey were going to be lovey-dovey the whole of junior year, and that she'd have to play the reluctant, awkward third wheel, since hanging out with Dawson was out of the question and Jen and Jack were nearly inseparable these days. And then Pacey and Andie broke up. Or rather, Pacey dumped Andie. She didn't know the specifics; all she knew was that Andie had cheated on Pacey with some guy in the institution. Joey knew that Pacey could be annoying a lot of the time, and that Andie had probably been scared and lonely, but despite the disparaging comments she made about Pacey during pretty much the entirety of the years she'd known him, she knew Pacey was nothing if not loyal. She knew it'd kill him to have someone he trusted betray him, especially someone he trusted with his heart.

She stared at the three of them, silently contemplating the pros and cons of crawling into a cave and not coming out until she was no longer a teenager, until a loud snore redirected her attention to the final two occupants of the bed.

Jack and Dawson lay in a horizontal position at the foot of the bed, with Dawson encased in Jack's arms. Joey snickered despite her best efforts to remain expressionless. The looks on their faces when they woke up and realized where they were and why they were so warm if they didn't have blankets would be priceless. This would be the perfect blackmail material. If she was that kind of person, that is. Her thoughts drifted back to Pacey, who was smiling in his sleep. Had he been awake, he would've declared this as "too good an opportunity to pass up", taken lots of pictures, and thought out loud about what the various uses of the "suggestive" photos could be. In fact, he'd probably rope her into one of his inane plans, and she'd probably let him.

It didn't freak her out anymore that she would willingly be Pacey's partner in crime, a role usually fulfilled by Dawson. What scared her was that she'd probably _enjoy_ it. And she didn't know _why_ it scared her, because their marine biology project in freshman year had made Pacey shine with a new light in her eyes – he was someone who could be a real friend, something beyond the antagonistic bantering they had kept up for so many years. Of course, for Pacey, it had awoken something way past the burgeoning friendship she had seen. She could feel her cheeks heat up at the memory – he had kissed her! Pacey Witter had _kissed_ her.

Long before Dawson had realized exactly why she had bristled at Jen's arrival, Pacey had noticed her. _Really_ noticed her, not as Joey Potter the convict's daughter, or Joey Potter, tomboy extraordinaire. And that scared her, despite years of bemoaning the fact that most people never saw her beyond those definitions. So maybe that was why, deep down, she couldn't help but feel that their friendship might be something dangerous. It was something she was afraid to touch.

And it really wasn't helping matters, this proximity.

She was going to kill Pacey when he woke up, because it wasn't really fair to kill him without at least giving him a chance to defend himself first. The again, she would kill him either way, so maybe it would be better to just put him out of his misery. She'd be doing him a favor, really – he was going to have a massive hangover tomorrow.

_Or maybe,_ she mused, _it'd be better to draw out his misery. After all, a quick death would be too easy. And he deserves it. This was all his idea, anyway._

She tried shifting again, wanting to get rid of the prickling sensation in her calves, but Pacey still held her tight and she could even start to feel a small amount of pressure from Jen's fingertips, which were located near her ribs. She froze – that was her ticklish spot – and decided that not moving was a very good idea. She didn't know whether it was intentional or not – Jack had discovered that particular ticklish spot in front of Jen when they had done a mock-reenactment of one of the scenes from Dirty Dancing – but either way, it was evil.

Resigned to staying uncomfortably upright the entire night, she pulled up the pillow she had been sitting on so that it now supported her back, scowling at Jen and Pacey when they groaned in protest at her moving. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the headboard.

Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a morning. In more ways than one.


	2. Set in motion

**AN:** First: I'm sorry for neglecting to update this in so long. I'm not going to give any excuses, mostly because I don't have any. Though I suppose you _could_ say that there are a couple of things influencing this lack of update: one, I don't have much of an idea where I'm going with this; two, I'm easily distracted, and three: I suck. But this is pretty long, I think, so that makes up for it a little tiny bit. Right?

Second: I hope this part is okay. –sighs- **It goes to the time before the first chapter: you know, the events leading to the whole Capeside crew ending up in the same bed. In other words, a flashback**. Sorry, had to bold that to get people's attention. Anyway, read on, and hopefully enjoy this installment.

* * *

**Watch Your Step  
**_Chapter 2_

Joey sighed contentedly. She took a sip of her cup of tea, steam billowing from it in a smoky, iridescent pillar and dissolving in the cool air around her.

_This,_ Joey decided, _will be a good day._

She took another sip, musing over the details that had provided her with this rare, responsibility-free day. First, a week ago, Joey had worked double shifts over at the docks so she would be free the next weekend to baby-sit Alexander. Apparently, Bodie was going to some cooking-seminar thing, and Bessie insisted on coming along so that in the future, if the Icehouse was rebuilt and if Bodie was out, Bessie would be able to act as the temp cook.

Privately, Joey thought that that was an out-and-out _lie_ – Bessie hated cooking, so her going with Bodie would most likely be an excuse to get out of the house, baby-free, for a while – but if Bessie suspected that Joey had figured that out, she made no mention of it. Joey didn't say anything about it, though, and complied. She really hadn't been in the mood to pick a fight with Bessie, which would've been odd considering that she normally considered fighting with Bessie a fond, sometimes-satisfying past-time, but under the present circumstances….

And then, a few days before the seminar, Bodie told Bessie to remember to "buy extra formula for the baby meeting." Bessie's jaw had dropped, and Joey had turned away from the sight, grinning. Apparently, Bodie had nixed attending the cooking seminar, instead opting for a "Baby and Me" meeting that was happening on the same weekend. And he had also apparently forgotten to mention this little change of plan to Bessie.

She _definitely _hadn't envied Bodie. Well, she never had in the first place, but that was beside the point. The point being that if you take away a vacation from a stressed out young mother, be prepared for the consequences. Luckily, Joey wouldn't have to deal with the consequences. Unluckily for Bodie, he _did_.

So, with no Alex or Bessie or Bodie around, she was free to do whatever she felt like doing - which didn't include homework. Since she'd thought she was going to be babysitting Alex, she'd done her weekend homework in advance. Joey smiled a little.

_That's right, Joey, _she thought. _Savor this._

And she proceeded to do so, taking another sip of tea, relishing the warmth pooling in her stomach, since mornings at the Potter abode and Capeside in general were usually a little chilly because of both locations' proximity to bodies of water. Fortunately, there wasn't really a reason to get up on this Friday morning: school was out for the day, for some reason she wasn't about to question, and there wasn't much to do in the way of chores. She curled up in her comforter on the couch in the living room that doubled as her bedroom, and –

"Potter! You in there?"

– froze. _Pacey_? What was _he_ doing here?

"Joey!"

Joey debated on the admittedly sparse merits of actually allowing Pacey into the house, but her decision was made for her as she heard the unmistakable creaking of the screen door and the clicking of the lock of the inner door, and suddenly, the Potters' living room was filled with more of the Witter persuasion than she would've preferred. Joey sighed.

"What do you want, Pacey?"

Pacey shrugged, dropping down next to her on the couch. "A guy can't drop by to see his favorite Potter sister?" Joey quirked an eyebrow. "Where _is_ Bessie, anyway?"

Joey rolled her eyes. "Hilarious. Just tell me why you're here ruining my previously Pacey-free day. You know, it was going _so_ well without you."

"Ah, there's the Potter charm we all know and love. Unfortunately, if you want to get in on the Witter pantaloons you'll have to get in line like everybody else, flattery or not."

"_Pacey…_"

"All right, all right, cool it with the glares, huh? I just wanted to know if you'd be willing to come along on a sort of…mini-road trip."

"Mini-road trip?" Pacey nodded. Joey stared at him, not knowing whether to laugh in his face outright or gawk at what could be an attempt at establishing a real, solid friendship that didn't entail pranking people or looking in on girls' slumber parties.

Well, maybe friendship was too strong a word. Maybe it was an attempt to make her not want to knee him in the groin on the spot whenever she saw him. She did have to admit they'd been getting along better than before, though. She only felt like kneeing him in the groin every once in a while now, instead of every time she saw him. And they _did_ willingly hang out more often than before, which wasn't saying much, but still….

"You know, Jo, they have these new-fangled things called questions, and those questions often need these other new-fangled things called answers-"

"Shut up, Pacey. A mini-road trip? What exactly are you trying to do here?" Pacey gave an exasperated sigh.

"God, woman, it's a simple question! No ulterior motives, just a simple question that requires either a 'yes' or a 'no'. Can you do that, or do you have to analyze everything to the point where an answer won't be necessary?"

Joey didn't know whether to glare and defend herself or beat him up and be done with it. She opened her mouth as Pacey looked behind her and nodded, and before she knew it she found herself hoisted into the air and placed over someone's vaguely familiar shoulders.

"Jack?"

"Hi, Joey." Behind him stood…

"Jen?" Jen smiled apologetically.

"It'll be fun, I promise."

"Hey, what are you guys doing? Jack, put me down! _Pacey-_" She managed to glare at him while struggling over Jack's shoulder, noticing that he was standing near her dresser. Her eyes narrowed.

"Pacey, _what-"_

"Sorry, toots." Pacey turned to her and grinned unapologetically at the snarling girl, winking at her as well. He then turned back to Joey's dresser, and moved to open one of the drawers, but paused.

"You know what? Jen, you do the honors. I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but this is one underwear drawer I _don't_ want to rummage through," Pacey glanced at Jack, who was having a bit of trouble getting Joey through the door. "Not if I still want to live after this, anyway."

Jen smiled, and then pouted.

"What, so it's okay for her to kill me, instead?"

* * *

"I don't understand why you guys couldn't have just told me." Joey sulked, seated a bit uncomfortably between Jack and Jen in the Witter Wagoneer.

"Well, one: technically, Pacey _was_ trying to tell you. Two: it's more fun this way." Jen smiled sweetly, Jack and Pacey grinned, and Joey continued pouting.

"You guys suck."

Pacey nodded, eyes still on the road. "Yes, but we suck in all the right ways."

The four of them paused for a bit.

"Ew, Pacey!" Joey grimaced, Jack laughed, and Pacey and Jen snickered.

"Pace, my man, have I ever told you that you have such a beautiful way with words?"

"I have my beautiful way with other things, too, don't forget about that." Another pause, and this time Jack grimaced along with Joey while Jen laughed outright. Pacey had the decency to look a little bit repentant.

"You just had to keep going, didn't you? Where's selective amnesia when you need it?" Jack groaned. Joey sighed, leaning back.

"Well, isn't this trip off to a stellar start. Where are we off to, anyway?"

"Ah, just some teen hangout joint about an hour away."

"Sounds fascinating."

"Now Josephine, I know how excited you are at the prospect of finally meeting other specimens of the male variety, but rest assured, you're going to see none finer than me."

"Bite me, Pacey."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? I'm on to you, Potter, though hopefully never on top of you."

"Pacey, are you suicidal or do you actually get off on me beating the crap out of you physically and mentally?"

"Are they going to be like this the whole way?" Jack asked, looking past Joey and quirking an eyebrow at Jen.

"Probably," Jen replied, smiling. "But you gotta love 'em anyway." Jack put his arms behind his head, looking at the ceiling of the car like he was resigned to some terrible fate.

"This is going to be a _long_ drive."

* * *

"Dawson?"

Dawson glanced at the door to his room, where his mother stood watching him. He pointed the remote at his TV, pressed the mute button, and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, mom?"

"Listen, I know that this is your day off from school, and I know it's right before a weekend, but could I possibly ask you for a favor?" She asked, her face drawn up in a pleading expression.

Dawson considered it for a moment: it was a Friday, there was no school, and he was watching E.T. for the fourth time that day, which wouldn't normally be so bad since usually Pacey, Joey, or the both of them used to come watch and mock him for loving the movie so much, and he was usually more amused than angry at said mocking. But Joey coming over was out of the question nowadays, and Pacey was hopefully helping Joey out…that, or hanging out with Andie. And since she'd only recently come back, well, he figured he should probably leave them to have some time alone. And Eve…as elusive as ever.

He sighed. Well, it wasn't like he had anything better to do. "Sure, mom. What do you need me to do?"

"Thanks, honey, you're a real life saver! You see, the station is trying to appeal to a broader age group, and they're first trying to appeal to your generation by including teen-oriented segments. You know, what places are cool to hang out at, the latest trends, stuff like that. Only the cameraman and anchor who were supposed to cover that segment are both out, and everyone else at the station including me is busy covering other stories. So. Are you getting where this is headed, Dawson?"

"You want _me_ to film the segment?" She nodded. Well, it couldn't hurt, it'd get him out of the house, and it'd keep his mind off things for a while, which right now seemed pretty appealing.

"Sure." His mom beamed a brilliant smile at him and moved to hug him, but after a second he pulled back, a slightly confused look on his face.

"Uh, mom? I can film it, but I can't be both in front of and behind the camera. Unless you want me to use a tripod…?" She shook her head.

"I was thinking you could get one of your friends to help you out."

"Oh. Uh, yeah, okay." If he could find them, that is. "It's as good as done. Now, where do you need me to go?"

"Oh, it's this cool little bar-slash-lounge place not too far from here, less than an hour's drive away. I heard that a lot of teens hang out there. Anyway, I'll give you a card showing that you're coming for the station, and there should be no problem getting in. Oh, and the camera equipment's downstairs. Thanks again for doing this, Dawson." She hugged him again before leaving his room.

When she was gone, he sighed again, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back on the headboard of his bed. Who could he ask to help him out?

Jen was probably palling around with Jack – the two were practically inseparable, these days – and while he didn't hate Jack, he still felt a bit uncomfortable around him. It was probably a bit of lingering resentment from the days when Joey and Jack had been going out. Jen was out, then, because Dawson was pretty sure that if Jen agreed that Jack would tag along.

Pacey was probably with Andie, Joey, or the both of them, and he definitely couldn't ask Joey, who would've been his first choice. He could probably ask Pacey, though. They could hang out for a bit in between filming, which they hadn't really done lately. It wasn't much of a surprise, though, considering Andie's recent return to Capeside and Dawson's request that he look after Joey.

He sat up before his thoughts could focus on Joey, and switched off his TV, looking around for the phone in his room. He tried calling Pacey's house, but no one answered. Frowning, he rummaged around in his head for Andie's number. If Pacey wasn't at home, there was a chance he was at Andie's house.

"Hello?"

"Andie?"

"Dawson?"

"Hey. Uh, Pacey wouldn't happen to be there, would he?" There was a long pause. Dawson wondered if he was interrupting anything, but before he could ask if that was the case she answered, quietly.

"No. He's not here."

"Oh." Okay, so Pacey was MIA. But Andie wasn't. "Listen, Andie, were you planning on doing anything today?"

"Um, nothing in particular, I guess. Why?"

"You see, my mom wants me to film this segment today for the station, and since filming and reporting simultaneously is not on my list of talents, I kind of need someone to help me out-"

"Say no more, Dawson. Reporter Andie McPhee, at your service."

"Thanks, Andie. I'll drop by your house in a few."

* * *

**AN: **So there you have it. I'm going to try my best to make this story as short as possible. As for this part…like it? Hate it? What do you think?

I realize that in this installment, Joey may seem a bit off from what she was thinking about in the first chapter regarding Pacey. However, my reasoning is that their friendship is still a tentative one, and that after everything that's happened thus far in the original show up to about the point in season three where Andie and Pacey break up, she wouldn't mind some quiet, Pacey-free days. Plus, in the first chapter, things happened that kind of affected her in a kinda big way. You'll see. And if you didn't think about that…then, um, sorry you had to read this long-ish author's note?

Also, if this wasn't inherently obvious…this story takes place a little after Pacey and Andie break up, but before Dawson actually finds out, which is why he thinks Pacey might be over at the McPhee's.

Again, hope you guys didn't hate this. If anything seems wrong or off in continuity or whatever, feel free to tell me so I can kick myself and change it.


End file.
